Sheldon's Rough Childhood
by firstfanfictionacc
Summary: Sheldon, as a young boy, has to deal with the world around him including his siblings, the kids at school, the neighbor kids, and his drunk of a father. In the beginning, he and Missy are around 6 years old, and their older brother (who I am naming Austin instead of George Jr.) is 10.
1. Introduction

This story takes place during Sheldon's childhood. A lot of characters will obviously be made up, and so will the settings (but it still, of course, takes place in Texas). And his family doesn't live in an aluminum house. Also, I don't know exactly when he went to certain grades of school, so I won't be using those correct times. I do know that his older brother is named George Jr., but for the sake of confusion, I will just name him Austin. Basically, I'm making up everything except for the characters of Sheldon, Missy, George, and Mary, and even then, they can act pretty different than you may expect. After all, this _is_ a fan fiction. Enjoy, and if not, stop reading it.


	2. Chapter 1

_Monday, August 21st - 6:04 am - The Coopers' House (the kitchen)_

"Mommy, please don't make me go," Sheldon cried to Mary. It was a school morning, and she was making breakfast for the kids. As she flipped a pancake, she looked at him as if nothing were wrong.

"I thought you liked to learn, Shelly." He rubbed his eyes and sniffed, standing a few feet away from his mother.

"I do, but all of the other kids are mean and make fun of me for no reason."

"Those are just kids, sweetpea, they don't know any better. You'll be fine. Now, go upstairs and wake up your brother and sister and tell 'em breakfast is ready." She was putting pancakes on plates and taking them to the table. Sheldon sighed and went up the stairs, crying. He dreaded going to school. He loved the learning part, but it was the fact that kids made fun of him for liking it that he hated. Every day brought fear and made him cry, and no one seemed to care. To be fair, though, his mother would care if she actually knew what exactly went on, but he always kept it to himself, fearing that if he told anyone, it would make matters worse. The rest of his family, on the other hand, _did_ make it worse - most of the time, at least. He walked into what would have been the room he shared with Austin (but due to Sheldon's wanting to be alone, Mary had let him take their extra bedroom).

"Austin, mom made breakfast," he said, standing in the doorway. Austin grunted turned onto his side so that he wasn't facing Sheldon. "You have to get up for school." Austin just laid there, pretending to sleep. Sheldon walked over to him and lightly shoved his shoulder. "Come on, wake up."

"Uuugghhh… fine…" complained Austin as he turned around to look at him. "Hey," he said, frowning. "What's wrong with your face? We're you crying again?" Sheldon just rubbed his eyes and shook his head as he stepped away from Austin's bed. He sniffed.

"No," he said quietly. Austin got out of his bed and walked over to his dresser.

"Well, whatever - scram. I gotta get dressed. Tell mom I'll be down in a minute," he said, shooing Sheldon. Sheldon quickly nodded and ran out of his bedroom. Austin looked at him as he reached the doorway. "Shut the door, will ya?" He was taking off his pajama shirt. Sheldon nodded again and shut his door. He then walked down the hallway to Missy's room and knocked on her door.

"Missy, are you awake?"

"Yeah." She was finishing getting dressed for school.

"Mom made pancakes."

"Okay," said Missy as she opened the door and came out, shutting it behind her. She was holding the neck of a small acoustic guitar, which puzzled Sheldon. His tears were dry by now, but he still had some pinkness on his cheeks and nose. She didn't think anything of it, though. The two of them went down the stairs and into the kitchen, Austin following a few minutes later. Mary was washing dishes.

"Good morning," she said, smiling at the three of them. She had set out their breakfast for them. Each had two smallish pancakes and a cup of orange juice (and there was a container of syrup on the table for anyone to use). They all sat down, and, after the three returned her good morning, Missy and Austin started to eat. Sheldon rubbed his eyes and started to cry as he thought about going to school. Mary was too busy to notice, though.

"Mommy," he cried. She looked over at him, still washing dishes.

"Yes, Shelly?" Austin snorted at the dainty nickname as he ate his pancakes.

"I'm tired. Do I have to go to school?" He rubbed his eyes again. Mary dried her hands on a small towel hanging under the sink.

"Of course, you do… And it's a Monday - we're all tired," she said as she walked behind Sheldon. She ruffled his hair in her hand and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. "Just eat your breakfast. That'll wake you up a bit." He just looked up at her with sad eyes and sniffed. She directed his attention to his orange juice, and he drank some as she walked away to go upstairs. Missy put her empty cup down on the table and looked at Sheldon, cocking her head. Her first grade mind wondered what could make him so sad.

"Sheldon, what's the matter?"

"I don't want to go to school."  
"Why not? We get to show and tell today!" Austin shook his head as he thought about how he used to get ridiculously excited about show and tell at that age. Sheldon looked up at her and involuntarily smiled a little.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot." He was in a better mood, now, and ate his pancakes as they talked. "What are you going to bring?"

"Probably her _dolls_ ," Austin interjected teasingly.

"No!" Protested Missy as she leaned over to swat him. He dodged it, and she almost fell out of the chair. After she sat back up, she looked at Sheldon again. " _I'm_ bringing in my guitar to play for everyone," she said proudly. "I asked Ms. Hall, and she said she'd love to hear it." Sheldon and Austin both knew that she wasn't remotely good at playing the guitar, but Austin was the only one who rolled his eyes. "How about you? What are you bringing?"

"I will be showing everyone Petey and teaching them why he has to lick his eyes," Sheldon said, smiling. Austin looked at him questionably.

"Your dumb _lizard?_ "

" _Crested. Gecko._ And, he is not dumb. I love him." Missy gave the same look to Sheldon, but it wasn't of the same nature as Austin's.

"Did Ms. Hall say that was okay?" Sheldon looked down at the table and fiddled around with his hands.

"Well… I didn't… _ask_ her, but I think it will be alright."

"Oh, okay," said Missy as she got out of her chair and took her dishes to the sink. "I can't wait to see what everyone else has!" She ran over by the door and took her jacket out of the closet next to it. Sheldon and Austin took their dishes to the sink as Mary came down the stairs. She smiled at Missy.

"Look at'chu, all ready for school." Sheldon and Austin came over and put their coats on as well. Missy was jumping up and down uncontrollably.

"Of course I'm ready!" she shouted as Mary grabbed her purse. "It's show and tell day!" That reminded Sheldon that he left Petey in his room. He opened his eyes wide, and Mary watched him bolt to the stairs.

"Oh, well isn't that going to be fun - uh, Sheldon, dear, we have to leave."

"One moment!" He shouted from his room. He quickly (but carefully) took his crested gecko out of its tank and placed him in a small plastic container with holes on the lid and shut it. He took a small square of a sheet he had cut out and draped it over the container. "I'm coming!" He ran down the stairs, and the three kids put on their backpacks. They were leaving the house when Mary looked at what Sheldon was holding.

"What's that, dear?" He looked at the container and back at her quickly.

"It's a... surprise," he said, smiling.

"Well, as long as you didn't create some dangerous concoction, I guess you'll just have to show me later." She smiled and put her arm around his shoulder as the walked to the end of their driveway. Austin contemplated telling her that Sheldon was bringing his gecko, but he decided to just see how things play out. Eventually, their bus came, and Mary kissed Sheldon and Missy goodbye (Austin dodged it). She just smiled and shook her head at him as they got on the bus. She waved and walked back to the house as they drove away.

On the bus, Missy was sitting with Sheldon, playing her guitar loudly. They were in the front seat, and Austin was in the back of the bus with the rest of the older kids. Even though it was still a bit hard to hear over the general screaming of the children on the bus, the bus driver yelled at Missy to quit playing. Their driver was a fat woman with the voice of a fat man. "KEEP IT DOWN, GUITAR GIRL, I'M DRIVIN' HERE! I TOLD YOU WHEN YOU GOT ON THE BUS TO KEEP IT QUIET!" Her booming voice made Sheldon flinch and Missy immediately stop playing her guitar. Missy just huffed angrily and set her guitar across their laps. Sheldon rested his container on the body of the guitar and looked down at it. He hoped the volume of their bus wasn't disturbing Petey. He loved Petey so much. Mary had given Petey to him for his third birthday, knowing that a typical three year old couldn't take care of a gecko and that she'd probably have to do it until he was old enough, but to her surprise, he did all of the maintenance by himself. After all, he was more intellectually inclined. And he loved Petey so much. He couldn't wait to share him with his first grade class. He removed the sheet and happily watched Petey lick his eyes for the rest of the bus ride.

At school, the children were going to their classrooms and putting their belongings in the designated areas - first and second graders were to be trusted putting their things in cubbies in the hallways, and the older kids were allowed small lockers. Austin went upstairs to his fourth grade class, and Sheldon and Missy entered Ms. Hall's room. Ms. Hall was standing outside of the doorway, waiting until the halls were clear to make sure everyone was inside. She smiled at Missy as she carried her guitar into the classroom and lifted her eyebrows excitedly at Sheldon, glancing at his container, which was again covered with a sheet. He smiled back and went in. Once there were no children in the hallway, Ms. Hall shut the door and walked to the front of the room, looking at all of the little kids. They were already sitting at their assigned desks because they all knew what day it was, and they wanted to be on their best behavior so they would get to show and tell. Ms. Hall clapped her hands together and smiled. She was a tall, young woman with bright blue eyes and wavy golden hair that went down to her butt. She wore jeans and a red flannel with a white tank top underneath. Her friendly appearance was pleasing to the children, and they all loved her. "So, I know you're all excited to show and tell-"

"Oh, _no!_ " shouted a little brown haired boy from the back of the class. He slapped his hands onto his face and dragged them down his cheeks. Everyone looked at him, and Ms. Hall had to ask why he did that before finishing her sentence.

"What's wrong, Timmy?" she asked, worriedly. He let his hands fall onto his desk in disappointment.

"I forgot to bring my matchbox cars!" Ms. Hall opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted again.

"Ha, ha!" A redheaded kid was laughing and pointing at Timmy, causing the other kids to join in and laugh (except for Sheldon, who knew what it was like to be laughed at, and frankly, didn't see why it was amusing in the first place. He would have mentally beat himself up if he had forgotten Petey, which _did_ almost happen).

"It's alright, Timmy. You can bring them next time - William, that is _not_ nice. Apologize to Timmy," said Ms. Hall, wondering when she would get to tell them how the day was going to go. Everyone laughed at William instead, and his face turned red.

" _Sorry_ , Timmy…" He frowned angrily and looked back at the front of the room.

"Thank you," Ms. Hall began. "So, today, is show and tell, but we still have to learn, first!" She turned to write something on the board as everyone (except for Sheldon) gave a disappointing "aw". He didn't mind having to wait. As much as he wanted to present his gecko to everyone, he always liked to learn. He just left the container waiting in his desk (it was open in the front). He eagerly watched as Ms. Hall taught them to do simple addition and subtraction. She also had them read some books for ten minutes before lunch. When they were done reading, she had everyone line up at the door, leaving their show and tell objects in/on their desks. A few kids fought to try to be the line leader, and she walked over to the door. Her presence caused the kids to stop shoving each other, and the girl who ended up in the front of the line smirked at the others proudly. "Okay, everyone," she said, opening the door. "Let's go to the cafeteria." She led them out of the room, and the kids who brought a lunch retrieved it from their backpacks. Once Ms. Hall was sure everyone got what they needed, they walked down the hallways and entered the cafeteria. All of the other first grade classes were getting their lunches and sitting at the tables as their teachers departed. As usual, Missy left Sheldon so she could sit by her girlfriends. Sheldon just sat at the nearest table, not feeling the need to choose anywhere specific because of his lack of friends. In fact, he barely talked to anyone. Their tables were made of two parts so they could be folded up when they weren't being used, and Sheldon was alone on one half while some other kids were grouped together on the other. He took out his peanut butter and jelly sandwich and looked over at them contently. They were all talking and giggling - more than usual since they were all telling each other what they had brought for show and tell. One of them stopped talking and looked at him weirdly. He just blinked and looked back at his sandwich. He picked it up and started eating, looking around the cafeteria out of boredom. Antisocial as he was, he sometimes felt like it might be nice to have at least _someone_ to talk to. But the matter didn't bother him that much for now. He just continued to eat his lunch until William, who was among those sitting on the other end of the table, shouted toward him.

"Hey, kid!" Sheldon looked up and turned to face William's overly freckled face. He swallowed the bit of food he had been chewing.

"Yes?"

"What did _you_ bring to show and tell? A dictionary?" His dumb little friends laughed at the lame joke.

"No." Sheldon cocked his head, looking at them questionably. He didn't know what was supposed to be funny. He just forgot about it and smiled. "I brought my gecko. His name is Petey."

"That's a funny name," said a little girl sitting across from William.

"Yeah," William began, "a funny named gecko for a funny named loser." The little girl frowned at William.

"No, I like his name, and Sheldon isn't-"

"Hey, Sheldon, is _Petey_ your only friend?" He teased. Everyone at the table laughed except for Sheldon and the confused little girl. She just made an angry face at William. Sheldon looked up at the ceiling as he tried to figure out if he had any actual friends.

"I… I think so," he said quietly. William and the other kids laughed and went back to talking among themselves, but the girl just got up and sat by Sheldon, who was starting to cry a little.

She scooted next to him and said, "hi." He rubbed his eyes and inched away a little.

He sniffed, and said, "hi," back. "What's your name?" He was looking at the table because he was too nervous to look her in her green eyes.

"Bridget," she answered in her friendly little voice.

"Power and strength," said Sheldon, finally looking up at her. He had stopped crying.

"What?" She frowned and looked at him with great confusion.

"Your name. It is derived from the noun _brígh_ , meaning 'power, strength, vigor, virtue.' You may have been confused because I only said two of the four meanings - sorry."

"Oh, it's okay… and… cool…" Bridget was trying so hard to be nice to him even though to her young mind, it seemed like he was speaking a different language at that moment. She just replaced her confused face with a smile.

"Why aren't you sitting over there?" Sheldon gestured towards the other side of the table. "Aren't they your friends?" She looked over at the kids, who were still talking and giggling among themselves.

"Well… they _were_ , but I didn't like how they were treating you. They're too mean to be my friends. You're nice." Sheldon smiled a little and looked down, blushing.

He quietly said, "thank you." A moment later, the bell rang, and all of the kids in the cafeteria started to get up to dispose of their garbage and stand by their teacher.

"You're welcome," said Bridget as she stood up and skipped away. Although she was nice enough to talk to him, she _was_ still a six year old little girl with a short attention span. Sheldon got up to throw away his trash, and one of William's friends zipped passed him, almost knocking him over. He continued to try to make his way through the ocean of children when one of them carelessly bumped into him, successfully making him fall. He just picked up his garbage and lunch bag and stood back up. After he threw them away, he was the last one to walk over to Ms. Hall. The teachers led their students out of the cafeteria class by class. While standing in his group, Sheldon realized that Bridget was in his class. He had never really paid attention to who was and was not in his class before, but this time he had recognized her. They were the last class to leave, and they made their way back to Ms. Hall's room. _Today isn't_ so _bad_ , Sheldon thought. And it was almost time to present his beloved gecko to the class.


	3. Chapter 2

"Okay, everyone," said Ms. Hall as she walked to the large colorful rug in the back of the class. "Take out what you brought to show and tell, and come sit on the rug!" All of the kids rushed to the back of the class, holding their objects (except for Timmy, who was hitting himself in the face as he slowly followed them). "Now, Timmy, you don't have to beat yourself up. There's always next time." He just pouted and dropped onto his butt. Ms. Hall pulled out a cup with popsicle stick in it. Each kid's name was written on a stick. "...Okay… let's see who gets to go first…" she said as she shook the sticks around in the cup, the children dying from the suspense. She quickly pulled out a stick and read it before thinking. "Ah, yes, Timmmmeeeeokay, let's try someone else…" Timmy looked at her with that "really?" face, and everyone laughed. She pulled out a stick and read it. "Aiden."

"YES!" Aiden shouted as he took off his shoe. One girl leaned over to another sitting next to her and whispered.

"Great, it's the _weird_ kid," she said, and they both giggled. Aiden was now taking off his sock. A bunch of kids said "eeeewwww" as he emptied a few marbles out of it into his hand. He proudly held his hand out for everyone to see.

"These are my good luck marbles. The blue one is my favorite."

"Why are they in your sock?" Ms. Hall laughed. "Don't they hurt your feet?"

"It's a small price to pay," said Aiden as he rolled them off of his hand back into his sock.

"Alright, then," Ms. Hall laughed. She pulled a few more sticks, and some more kids showed off various items from their households until she got to Missy. "Missy," she said, placing Missy's popsicle stick on the ground with the others who have already gone. Missy picked up her guitar.

"Ooo, yay," she said as she put it in the playing position. "This is my guitar I got from my dad a few months ago." There was a chorus of "whoa"s.

"Play us a song!" Shouted a little boy.

"She'll only play one if she wants to, Joey," said Ms. Hall calmly as she looked over at him.

"That's okay, I can play one," said Missy. She started to rapidly strum her guitar. This aimless strumming went on for about two minutes until everyone started clapping, amazed at her first grader ability to strum a guitar. She smiled and put her guitar down. "Thank you, everyone. Y'all are too kind." Ms. Hall smiled and pulled out another stick.

"What a coincidence. Missy's twin brother, Sheldon." She was smiling at Sheldon as she put the stick down. "I've been waiting to see what's in that box of yours." Sheldon smiled and carefully removed the lid from the container, holding the sheet onto it to create an effect of suspense. Once the sheet was entirely lifted, the kids all said "whoa" again. "Aw," said Ms Hall as she looked at the gecko. She wasn't sure if the school allowed for the bringing in of small animals, but she honestly didn't care, either. "Does he or she have a name?"

"His name is Petey," said Sheldon as he carefully picked him up out of the container.

"How cute."

"I've had him since my third birthday." Sheldon held him in his hand and put it out for everyone to see. Petey licked his eye.

"Ew! Why'd he just lick his _eye_?!" Shouted a little girl, covering her face. Sheldon smiled and looked at her as she took her hands away.

"I'm glad you asked. See, crested geckos don't have eyelids, so they can't blink. Instead, their eyes are protected by a membrane, and they will sometimes lick their eyes to keep them clean." Sheldon looked at Bridget, and she was staring at Petey with great interest. He looked around at the rest of the class and saw William whispering to one of his friends. They laughed, and Sheldon cocked his head but couldn't do anything further because Ms. Hall started to talk again.

"That's very informative, Sheldon. Thank you for telling us that," she said, smiling and reaching for another popsicle stick. Still wondering what William had said to his friend, Sheldon slowly put Petey back in the container and shut it. He held onto it in case the two were thinking about stealing him. The rest of the class had their turn doing show and tell, and the day was almost over. The kids were allowed to sit on the rug and talk to each other until the bell would ring. Bridget sat next to Sheldon and looked at the container. Sheldon looked up at her. She was blonde and had little cute curls in her hair. It wasn't exactly _curly_ , though.

"Petey is really cute. Can I see him again?"

"Sure." Sheldon opened the container, and Bridget peeked inside.

"Hi, Petey." Sheldon smiled at her.

"I can't wait to get home and wash my hands." Bridget laughed cutely.

"Yeah, I would pet him, but I don't want to get his germs." Sheldon found it interesting that he was okay with touching Petey. He was usually a complete germophobe. He figured it was just because he had grown so attached to Petey. They sat there and talked until the bell rang. "Bye Sheldon!" Bridget stood up, holding the doll she had brought in and waved. He stood up as well.

"Bye." He thought it was cute that she had brought in a doll. During her turn, she had realized she was a bit embarrassed that she brought it, but he thought it was nice that she did anyways. It meant something to her. Everyone left the room and went to their cubbies in the hallway, and Ms. Hall stood outside her room, saying bye to them and smiling. Sheldon got all of his things and walked outside. The buses were parked a few hundred feet away, so he had to walk a bit. He turned a corner, and suddenly William and his friend, Tyler pushed him to the ground. Sheldon lost his grip on the container, and it flew out of his hands, landing on the ground a few feet away. "Petey!" He tried to get up and reach in that direction, but Tyler kicked his hand. "Ow!" Sheldon held his hand, and winced. By the time he looked where the container had fallen, he looked up to see William holding it.

"Tyler, catch!" He tossed it to Tyler as Sheldon started to reach toward him.

"Wait - no! I need to see if Petey is okay!" Tyler ran sideways out of his reach and threw the container back to William. Sheldon was starting to cry. "Please, stop throwing him. He's little!" He got up and ran to William, who chucked the container at Tyler. It hit Tyler in his outstretched hand and fell to the ground.

"If you want your stupid lizard, you have to catch him first!" laughed William.

"Yeah, catch _THIS!_ " Tyler forcefully threw the container towards William and missed, sending it flying into the wall behind them. William and Tyler just stood there, staring at it dumbly with their mouths hanging open. They quickly ran away to the buses, leaving Sheldon there, crying. Sheldon ran to the box and picked it up hurriedly. He didn't have enough time to open it right now, or he'd end up missing the bus. He ran to the buses and boarded his. Once he was sitting in a seat, he opened the container and found that Petey was laying there on his back, dead. He put the lid back on and cried. He buried his face in his hands as Austin got on the bus. He stopped walking down the aisle and looked down at Sheldon.

"What's wrong, Sheldon?" Sheldon sniffed and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his coat, looking up at Austin.

"William and Tyler killed Petey," he sobbed. "I don't know why," he gasped. "They just did." Austin sat in the seat with him.

"They… _killed_ him? Are - are ya sure?" Sheldon nodded and cried harder. "What happened?"  
"I was just leaving to go to the bus when they pushed me," he sniffed. "They took Petey and threw him back and forth until," he gasped, "he hit a wall, and they ran away." He rubbed his eyes, the container resting on his lap. Austin rubbed his back. He didn't know what to tell him.

"If you want, I'll beat those kids up - what did you say their names were, again? William and Taylor?"

"No… no, that's not necessary. I just wish they weren't so mean to me. I don't even do anything to them."

"I know, and it's hard to believe _first graders_ would do that. Heck, they were probably just too dumb to realize what they were doing to the little guy." Austin looked down at Sheldon, but he just turned his head to look out the window. Austin just sat back and stared at the ground for the rest of the ride, listening to the loud children and the soft crying of his little brother.

Sheldon hopped over Austin's lap and ran off of the bus. He bolted up the driveway and into the house as Missy and Austin were still getting out. Sheldon saw no one in the family room, so he ran up the stairs and stopped in front of Mary as she was about to go down the stairs. She saw that he was crying. "Oh, my… Shelly what's got you so worked up?"

"The boys at my school killed Petey," he cried, hugging her with the container still in his hand.

"What? Listen, let's go downstairs and talk." Sheldon let go of her waist but held her hand as they went downstairs into the kitchen. They walked into the family room and sat on the couch. Missy and Austin had put their bags inside, but they were outside, already playing with the neighbor kids. Sheldon was crying uncontrollably and rubbing his eyes.

"Mommy, they killed him." He cried harder.

"Who?"

"William, and Tyler."  
"Are those boys your age? Or are they big kids?"

"They're in my class." He sniffed. "Look." He thrusted the container against Mary. She grabbed it and opened it. She looked at the dead gecko sadly and pulled Sheldon into her to kiss his forehead.

"I'm really sorry, Shelly… We can bury him in the yard, and I'll call the school to tell them those boys are causin' trouble." Sheldon wiped his eyes and nodded.

"Thank you," he said as they stood up. They started to walk out their back door as Mary realized she didn't know that he had brought Petey to school.

"I'm guessing Petey was your show and tell object?" Sheldon nodded and looked up at her as they walked into the back yard. She wiped a tear off from underneath his eye with her thumb. "I'm so sorry, Shelly…" They were now standing near Mary's small garden. She kneeled down and picked up a gardening shovel and handed it to Sheldon. "Bury him where ever you'd like, sweetheart," she said, patting him on the back. He looked around and walked to the far end of the garden. He pointed to a spot of dirt on the very outer edge of the garden and looked back at her.

"Here?"

"Of course…" She stood up and walked over by him as he dug a small hole and handed him the container when he was done. Sheldon happened to have a few tissues in his pockets, and he took one out. He removed Petey from the container and wrapped him in the tissue, placing him carefully in the hole right after. He sniffed and said goodbye, and Mary helped him cover the hole again with dirt. "Come on, Shelly, let's go inside and get'chu cleaned up." As they walked into the house, he realized how dirty he had gotten. There were grass and dirt stains on his pants from being shoved at school, and his hands were covered with dirt. Once they got in the house, Mary took his coat off for him and went to go hang it in the closet by the front door. Sheldon went into the bathroom to wash his hands. He then went upstairs to put on new pants. When he entered his room, he looked at Petey's tank and cried again. Mary came upstairs and walked into his room to find him sitting on his bed, crying and rubbing his eyes. She sat next to him and gently rubbed his back. He shut his eyes and hugged her.

"I miss him, Mommy."

"I know, darlin', I know. It's okay…" She looked down at him and then looked at the empty tank. "I'll take his tank out of your room."

"Thank you," he said, sniffing as she got up. She took the lamp off of the top of the tank and set it down on his dresser. She lifted the tank and took it out of his room, eventually putting it in their basement or attic. Sheldon laid down on his back and stared at the ceiling. Mary walked back in and sat on his bed, holding his hand and rubbing it with her thumb. "Do you want to play outside with your brother and sister?" He shook his head and shut his eyes.

"I'm tired."

"Ah, well… maybe you should take a nap." He sat up and looked at her as if she said something insane.

"But, I still have to tell you about my day."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Shelly, I didn't know you wanted to talk. I'm listening," she said lovingly.

"I made a friend. Or at least I think she's my friend. She was really nice to me when William and his friends were being mean." His mentioning of William's name reminded Mary that she still had to call the school about their behavior.

"That's great, honey. What's her name?" He smiled a little to himself at the thought of talking about her.

"Bridget. She's very pretty… oh, but I forgot to tell her…"

"That's alright - you can tell her tomorrow, can't ya?" Sheldon smiled again and nodded. Mary ruffled his hair in her hand, and he yawned. "Good," she said, smiling back. "Sure you're not tired?" she laughed.

"Well… I didn't say I wasn't tired…" Mary smiled at him as he laid back down. He yawned again and shut his eyes.

"Then I'll be downstairs if you need anything." She bent down and kissed him on the forehead, and he briefly smiled, his eyes still shut. She got up and left his bedroom. A few moments later, he fell asleep.

 _6:34 pm_

"Shelly! Dinner!" Sheldon woke up and rubbed his eyes, getting out of his bed and walking downstairs into the kitchen. Everyone was already sitting at the table. Missy looked at a tired Sheldon sitting in the chair next to her.

"Hey there, sleepy head."

"Hi."

"Okay, daddy's not home yet, so we'll just have to eat without him," said Mary, and Missy looked at her.

"Again?" she whined.

"Yes, again. He'll be working later for a while, and when he does get home, he'll probably be a bit cranky."

"Great," said Austin sarcastically.

"Austin…"

"Sorry." After a quick prayer, they began to eat their dinner. Sheldon was still sad about Petey and ate slower than usual. When everyone else was finished, Austin and Missy ran upstairs, and Sheldon was still eating. Mary took their dishes to the sink and washed them as Sheldon finished and brought his plate to her.

"Thank you, Shelly." He walked back to the table and drank the rest of his milk, giving her the cup afterwards. The thanked him again and proceeded to wash the dishes.

"I'm sorry I wasn't more careful with Petey."

"No, honey, that was not _at all_ your fault. I know how much you loved him and how careful you were when handling him," she said as she scrubbed a plate. "And while you were asleep, I called the school, and they said they would talk to the kids' parents."

"Okay," Sheldon said as he stood there watching her scrub the dishes. "Thank you." He walked into the family room and sat on the couch. He took a comic book off of the side table and started to read it. Mary looked over her shoulder at him and smiled as she dried her hands. She left the room for about an hour and came back to find Sheldon still sitting on the couch, but he was reading a different comic book.

"It's gettin' late, Shelly. Brush your teeth and get ready for bed." He looked over at her and closed his comic book, setting in down on the table again.

"Okay," he said quietly. He was about to walk past her when she stopped him and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," he said, smiling. She pulled away, and he walked up the stairs. When he walked into the bathroom, Austin and Missy were pushing each other out of the way to try to spit in the sink as they brushed their teeth. Austin was successful in scooting her to the side and spat, rinsing his mouth after. When he got out of the way, Missy jumped to get in front of the sink and proceeded to brush her teeth. Sheldon grabbed his toothbrush, wet it, put toothpaste on it, and started brushing. When Missy was done, she grabbed a hairbrush and brushed her hair.

"I wish daddy was here," she said, making long strokes in her beautiful brown hair. Sheldon spat into the sink and nodded. "Do you think he misses us?" Sheldon stared at her for a second and looked back into the mirror.

"Yes." That was _sort of_ a lie. He knew that George would miss Austin and Missy, but he didn't feel like he'd care for his (Sheldon's) company at all. When George comes home, he drinks. When he comes home late, he drinks a lot. And when he drinks a lot, he can get a little out of control. Since Sheldon is sensitive and sometimes needs specific care, George will often take out anger on him. Sheldon never knows when it's not a good time to talk to someone, so he'll end up getting in the middle of fights between George and Mary. George has hit him a few times before, but it was always when Mary wasn't present. Sheldon never told her, though. He was afraid that it would just make his father even angrier. Missy was almost done brushing her hair, and Sheldon was flossing his teeth.

"Austin told me about Petey. I'm really sorry, Sheldon."

"Thanks," he said quietly, throwing away the used floss. Missy put her brush down on the counter and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. "H-Hey! Cut that out!" He frowned and wiped his face. "You're getting your germs on me!" She just smiled and playfully shoved his shoulder.

"Goodnight," she said, walking out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. Sheldon turned off the light and walked down the hall to his room.

"Goodnight." He laid down in his bed, looking at where Petey's tank had been one last time, and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 3

_Tuesday, August 22nd - 6:37 am_

The kids were getting ready to leave the house for school. For the first time in a while, Sheldon wasn't crying. After he, Austin, and Missy put on their jackets and backpacks, they walked with Mary to the end of the driveway. "You know, you don't have to walk us to the bus every day, Mom," said Austin. It's kinda embarrassing."

"No it's not," she said, smiling and putting her arm around him playfully. He struggled to get out.

"Mom…"

"Alright, alright. If you want me to stop walkin' with'ya, I will." Missy suddenly looked up at her.

"No! I like when you walk us to the bus!" Sheldon quietly joined in.

"Yeah."

"See, Austin? It's not embarrassing," said Mary as she finally freed him from her (surprisingly strong) arm.

"Just 'cause these little munchkins say it's not doesn't mean it isn't."

"Hey, I'm not a munchkin!" shouted Missy as they arrived at the end of the driveway.

"Yeah you are!"

"Am not!"

"Yeah!"

"No!"

"Yeah!"

"That's enough, you two," said Mary as she firmly held their shoulders. "Why can't y'all be more like Sheldon?" she joked. Austin laughed.

"Because _no one_ wants to be like _him_." He nodded towards Sheldon with a playfully evil grin, and Missy laughed. Sheldon sniffed and looked at the ground, a single tear dripping out of each eye.

"Okay, like I said, that's enough," Mary said, facing Austin and Missy as she bent down to talk to Sheldon. "Don't you take them seriously. They're just playin', alright?" Sheldon rubbed his eyes and nodded. Their bus was pulling up. When it stopped, the three of them got in, and Mary waved to them as it left. As she walked back to the house, she realized that Sheldon was even more sensitive than she had previously thought. She didn't want to change him, though. She absolutely loved her Shelly just the way he was. It was just that she didn't like to see him cry so often (obviously). She decided to just forget about it and go on with her day.

Sheldon, Missy, and Austin walked into school, and Austin went upstairs as usual while the other two went to their cubbies. Missy quickly shove her backpack into hers and hung her coat on a hanger that was mounted above. She skipped away into the classroom as Sheldon finished putting his coat on his hanger. He turned to go to class and stopped moving at the sight of William and Tyler walking in and giving him dirty looks. He stepped back a little and started to cry. He was so afraid of those two and hoped that Mary's call to the school took effect. As he stood there and cried into his hands, Ms. Hall quickly ran over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "What's the matter, Sheldon?"

"I'm scared to go in because William and Tyler are in there," he sobbed. They started to walk to the doorway of the classroom.

"It's okay, sweetie, I won't let them cause trouble. And if they bother you when I'm not looking, be sure to tell me what happens, okay?" He nodded and rubbed his eyes.

"Okay."

In class, Ms. Hall was writing on the front board. She was having the kids review what they had learned about addition and subtraction the day before. She would write an unsolved equation and have them raise their hands to try to give the correct answer. Sheldon was always the first one to raise his hand, and he was always correct. "Okay, Sheldon, but next time you have to give someone else a chance," laughed Ms. Hall as she pointed to him again. He put his hand down.

"Fourteen."

"That… is… correct…" she said, speaking as she wrote "14" on the other side of the "equals" sign. "So, class, what does the board say?"

"Eight plus six equals fourteen," they all said in unison.

"Good!" Ms. Hall erased the equation and wrote "5+3=", and a bunch of kids raised their hands. "Bridget?"

"Is it… seven?" Bridget asked, unsure of her answer. Everyone laughed except for Sheldon. In all honesty, he probably would have laughed if it were anyone who was a jerk to him had gotten it wrong, but this was his new friend. His _only_ friend.

"Ha, ha, ha, she's dumb. She's a dumb blonde," said William (although not loud enough for Ms. Hall to hear). Everyone (but Sheldon) laughed harder, and Bridget's face got red.

" _Really_ close, Bridge. You said seven, but it's actually…" she began to write, "eight." Bridget facepalmed and shook her head. "But it's alright, you'll get better with practice!" Ms. Hall proceeded to do write and erase equations and call on students to answer. Sheldon, who happened to sit behind Bridget, leaned forward and tapped on her shoulder.

She turned around as he quietly said, "hey, it's okay. I know that you're smart." She smiled and blushed.

"Thank you, Sheldon - Oh! I made you something…" she turned back to her desk and dug through it, leaving Sheldon peeking over her shoulder, wondering what she was looking for. Eventually, she turned around again and looked at his eyes. "Hold out your hand," she said excitedly. He held out his hand, and she placed a tiny clay gecko in it, smiling and looking back up at him. He drew his hand closer to his eyes and studied the fragile figure. It had two holes poked in the head for eyes and little grooves in its back. He smiled and looked into her eyes excitedly.

"You _made_ this?" She nodded. "You're a remarkable artist, Bridget." The fact that a first grader could sculpt something that small and use details amazed him.

"Thank you."

"No, thank _you,_ " he said, looking back down at the gecko.

"My friend told me she saw you crying when she was going to her bus, and she said William and Tyler were hurting Petey. Then she said Petey…" she didn't want to finish the sentence and didn't have to because Sheldon was nodding.

"Yes," he said quietly. "Petey didn't make it… Is that why you made this for me?"

"Yeah. Flip it over." Bridget watched Sheldon carefully pick up the gecko and turn it onto its back.

 _To: Sheldon From: Bridget_

Sheldon opened his eyes wide. The writing was tiny! And it surely couldn't have been engraved by a six year old. He looked up at her with wide eyes, and she knew what he was thinking. "My mom had to help me with that part, but I did everything else," she giggled. Sheldon smiled and placed the gecko on his desk.

"I love it. Thank you so much, Bridget."

"You're welcome." She turned around to face the board. When she read the "13-8=" that was written, she quickly raised her hand to redeem herself. Ms. Hall pointed to her.

"Bridget?"

"Five."

"Very good!" She wrote "5" on the other side of the "equals" sign. "So, class, what does the board say?"

"Thirteen minus eight equals five."

"Great! Next equation…"

After a few more addition and subtraction equations were written solved, and erased, it was already lunchtime. Sheldon carefully put his clay gecko in his desk, and the class did their usual lining up and walking to the cafeteria. Ms. Hall left to go back to her room as the students got their lunches and sat down at the tables. Sheldon sat at the same table he did yesterday, and Bridget sat next to him again. They took out their food and ate, talking to each other until they were interrupted by William and Tyler getting up and walking over.

"Look, it's the little tattle-tale," said Tyler as they sat across from Sheldon and Bridget.

"Hey! Don't be mean to him! You killed his gecko!" Bridget said defensively.

"Be quiet, you dumb blonde, you weren't even there." William looked at her angrily.

"I'm not dumb!"

Sheldon joined in. "Yeah, she's actually very smart, for your information."

"Shut up, nerd. We didn't ask you!" said William as he looked back at Bridget. "How could _she_ be smart? Even a little. She couldn't even figure out what five plus three was," he laughed.

"We all make mistakes-" Sheldon began.

"That wasn't a mistake. That was her being the stupid little girl she is," said William. Sheldon saw Bridget's face get red, and he stood up.

"Stop it - _now_."

"What are _you_ going to do? You're just a dainty loser who only has dainty girls as friends - or, I guess I should say as a _friend_." Sheldon stared at him and sat back down, mentally admitting to himself that he knew he didn't stand a chance. Even though they were both just first graders, William was noticeably bigger than him. He wasn't fat, though - just bigger overall. Tyler and William smugly looked at each other.

"So, as we were saying before little blondie interrupted us," began Tyler. William finished the sentence.

"You cried to your _mommy_ and got us in trouble with our parents." Bridget looked at Sheldon, not daring to let herself smile, and he tried to do the same but failed. William and Tyler caught his smile and swiped at their food, sending their half-eaten sandwiches flying at the floor.

"Hey!" They both said angrily. Tyler looked at them.

"That's what you get for getting us in trouble!"

"Bridget didn't do anything. Why'd you have to knock _her_ food down? And you wouldn't have gotten in trouble if you didn't kill my gecko!"

"We just wanted to see what would happen if we played catch with him," said William as if it weren't a big deal. Sheldon was starting to cry out of anger (and because he was thinking about Petey).

"Well," he sniffed, "now you know! It hurts them, and they die if you're too rough! You're not just a bully - you're a murderer!"

"Am not, crybaby!"

"Don't call him that!" Bridget shouted in her helpless little girl voice.

"He _is,_ though!" said William as he ran around to their side of the table and got close to Sheldon. "He's a loser nerd that cries about everything - look!" William quickly punched Sheldon in the left collarbone, and he cried harder, grabbing his shoulder.

"Don't hit him!" Bridget was looking around for any surround supervisors for help. When she saw Sheldon duck under William's flying fist, she grabbed William's arm at incredible speed and pushed him away. He stumbled backwards and fell onto his butt. Tyler helped him up, and they scurried away to a different table, taking their stuff with them. Sheldon was still crying and looking down at the floor. "Hey, are you okay?" He looked up at her and rubbed his eye.

"I think so… thank you."

"Okay, good. Do you want me to tell a teacher?"

"-No."

"Why not?"

"Remember what they said? They're even angrier at me because I told my mom what they did. It would be even worse if a _teacher_ found out because they could actually punish them at school… I bet their parents didn't even punish them that bad. I'm not saying I know for sure, but, you know…"

"Yeah, I guess…" Bridget saw that Sheldon was still holding his hand to his shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?"she asked, looking at it. He saw that she was looking at it and quickly moved his hand away.

"Yes, I'm okay," he said quietly. The bell rang, and they both got up to pick up their food off of the ground and table to throw it away. Bridget waited for Sheldon, and they walked over to the doors to the outside together. Today, all of the first graders were going to recess. They went to recess everyday unless they had show and tell, in which case, it would be replaced. All of the other kids ran past them, but they just calmly walked out of the school. Sheldon never ran around like an excited child, anyways, and Bridget wasn't a hyperactive kid herself. While everyone else was playing tag or running up and down the slides and forts, they just sat under a nearby tree and talked. If anyone were watching them, they'd think the sight was adorable. Two little kids sitting criss-cross-applesauce, so engaged in conversation and pointing at flowers or other plants every now and then. They talked mostly about Sheldon's strong will to learn and Bridget's artistic abilities. Eventually, Bridget told Sheldon that she enjoyed cloud gazing, and they laid on their backs, looking up at the sky and pointing to the weird shapes they saw until recess was over. Sheldon had dozed off, so Bridget shook him awake.

"Come on, silly, we have to go!" Sheldon blinked and quickly stood up. Bridget grabbed his hand before he could do anything and started running to the school, and although she snatched it without asking him, he liked holding hands with her. All he had to worry about right now was trying to keep up.

The rest of the day went by smoothly, and Sheldon made sure not to forget his clay gecko when Ms. Hall let everyone out of the classroom to go home. As he put his coat and backpack on, he walked over to Bridget. "Goodbye, Bridget!" he said. "I'll see you tomorrow!" He was smiling at her, and she smiled back as she pulled the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Sheldon! Bye!" She walked in the opposite direction because she was what they called a "car-rider." Sheldon walked out of the school towards the buses in a good mood. He was holding the clay gecko in his hands and peeked around the corner of the building before proceeding to walk past it. He felt so happy to have such a wonderful friend. She was so kind and even stood up for him - at least as much as she could. And he found that her interests did not at all bore him. Without knowing it, she had made him think a little differently about the world - like with the cloud gazing. He always thought that it was a waste of time until he had done it and realized that it took a lot of imagination. Or, at least, a lot more than he had thought. He boarded his bus and sat down in the front left seat. Austin got on a few minutes later and looked at him to check if he was okay this time. Once he saw that he wasn't crying (and was even smiling), he smiled at Sheldon and continued to make his way to the back of the bus.

At the house, Sheldon, Missy, and Austin were told that they couldn't go outside because Mary had left to go to the grocery store for a while. The three of them were just sitting on the couch in silence. Finally, Austin looked over at them. "What do you guys wanna do?"

"I dunno..." said Missy as she zoned out into the carpet. Sheldon, who was still holding his clay gecko, looked up at Austin.

"We could play a board game."  
"Nah, you just wanna do that because you always beat us," Austin laughed.

"Untrue," said Sheldon defensively.

"No, no, it's okay, you don't have to get defensive. I was just sayin' you're a lot smarter than us." Missy shot him a look.

"Hey!"

"What? We both know it's true. Don't be jealous just 'cause _I_ can accept it." Missy ran across their couch and leaped onto Austin, knocking them both onto the floor. Austin, trying to untangle himself from her arms and legs, playfully looked at Sheldon. "Here's somethin' we can do - wrestle!" Sheldon put his clay gecko on the side table and looked down at him questionably.

"That seems unfair. You're so much older than us."

"Well…" Austin began as he was somehow pinned by Missy for a few moments before shoving her to the side. "If you must know, this one's a fighter!" Missy wouldn't let go no matter how many times he pushed her away. Sheldon just watched them roll around, trying to hold each other down. In a few minutes, he got bored and took a comic book off of the side table and read it. The two wrestled for a good ten minutes until there was finally a victor. "Ha!" said Austin triumphantly as he held Missy's back down to the floor. She was struggling to get up and waved her arms, looking up at Sheldon.

"Come on, Shelly, get over here and help me!"

"Oh, I don't think so," said Austin as he shuffled his knees so his back wasn't facing Sheldon. "There, now if the little rascal _does_ decide he wants to have fun and attacks me, I'll see him coming." He made a challenging grin at Sheldon.

"No, thank you. I'm fine up here, reading." Sheldon was still looking at his comic book as he spoke. Missy, trying to catch her breath looked up at him again (and since she was now facing the opposite way, everything was upside-down).

"You gotta be kiddin', Shelly," she breathed. "There ain't any words in those books."

"Maybe not as many as there are in your typical novel, but there are some. Still beats wrestling, in my opinion." Missy tried once more to get up and failed, breathing hard. Austin smiled at her, happy that he barely budged at her attempt to free herself.

"Give up yet?"

"Never…" she breathed.

"Are ya sure?" She shook her head, and he took his hands off of her shoulders, allowing her to sit up. She weakly threw her arms in the air in celebration.

"Yay…" she said as she let herself fall back to the floor. She closed her eyes and breathed. Austin laughed and stood up to get himself some apple juice from the kitchen.

"Any of you want something to drink?"

"Lemonade, please," said Sheldon.

Missy, still trying to catch her breath, weakly said, "apple juice…" Austin opened the fridge and looked around inside.

"We're all out of lemonade, but we do have apple juice," said Austin, turning around to look at Sheldon. "Do ya want some of that instead?"

"Sure."

"Alright, then." Austin took out three cups and poured them each some apple juice. He grabbed all three cups and held them against his chest as he walked back into the family room. "Here," he said as he leaned in to let Sheldon grab his. Now that Austin was able to move his arms without dropping anything, he grabbed Missy's cup and set it on the side table. Still laying on the ground, she looked up at him.

"Bring it here."

"Oh," said Austin as he picked up the cup again. He walked over to her, and she sat up for him to hand it to her.

"Thanks," she said before thirstily drinking it. Austin walked over to the front window of their house and stood there, looking outside. He finished drinking his apple juice.

"I'm going outside," he said, still facing the window. Sheldon and Missy looked up at him.

"You can't do that," said Sheldon as he put his comic book down and drank his juice.

"Yeah, mom said so," added Missy. Austin turned to look at them.

"Well as long as we come back in before she sees us, it doesn't matter, right?" He smiled. Missy and Sheldon looked at each other. "And-" Austin quickly added, "- as long as none of you munchkins tell on us. I'm lookin' at you, 'Shelly.'" Sheldon looked at him questionably.

"If I were to participate, why would I say anything?"

"Exactly - that settles it, then. We're all going outside."

"Yay!" Missy stood up and ran to get her jacket.

"It _has_ been a while since I played outside," said Sheldon as he walked his cup to the kitchen sink. Austin picked up his and Missy's cup and put them in the sink as well.

"Yeah, and I can teach you guys to throw 'n catch." Missy was already opening the door as Sheldon and Austin were putting their coats on. "Hey, wait for us!" Austin ran outside with her, and Sheldon followed. Sheldon stopped and zipped up his coat as Austin picked up a small orange ball from their porch. "Let's go to the backyard, so mom won't see us right away."

"Okay," said Sheldon as they walked around the house.

"I don't wanna throw 'n catch," whined Missy. Austin looked at her and pointed to a bush by the corner of the house.

"Then sit behind that bush and tell us when you hear mom's car."

"That's boring." He squatted down in front of her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"But that means you'll be the sentry!" he said in fake excitement. Missy looked at the bush and back at Austin, and Sheldon rolled his eyes at the misuse of the word.

"What's that?" Missy asked, confused. Sheldon interjected.

"A sentry is a person stationed to keep guard or control access." He turned to look at Austin. "But it's not like you'll execute our mother if she tries to enter our house or anything."

"Sheldon, you know what I meant," said Austin as he shook his head and stood up. He looked back down at Missy. "You'll be the...watchman! Okay? You tell us if mom's home, so we can have enough time to run inside through the back door."

"Okay," said Missy as she sat down behind the bush. Austin and Sheldon proceeded to walk behind the corner into the backyard. Once there, they stood a few feet away from each other, and Austin quickly threw the ball at Sheldon.

"Think fast!" Sheldon managed to duck a little as the ball skimmed the top of his head.

"You nearly killed me!" he shouted as he felt where the ball touched his hair.

"Did not!"

"Whatever. My turn." Sheldon turned around to get the ball and brought it back to where he was standing. He threw it short, and Austin ran up to catch it.

"Not bad, but you can do better." Austin stepped back and threw the ball to Sheldon. Sheldon caught it and threw it back harder than he did last time.

"How was that?"

"It was alright." Sheldon frowned. He thought it was a good throw, but Austin was just giving him a hard time. "Catch this one - you ready?" Austin prepared to throw the ball and was looking at Sheldon.

"Yes," said Sheldon quietly. Austin threw the ball a little high, and Sheldon tried to catch it but failed. "Darn."

"It's alright - keep tryin'. Hey, Missy, you don't see mom, do ya?" He and Sheldon looked at her as Sheldon bent down to pick up the ball.

"No!"

"Okay, thanks!" Austin and Sheldon continued to play catch, and Sheldon would often drop the ball. Austin would throw harder and harder and faster and faster as Sheldon tried to get ready to catch it.

"Hey, give me a chance to get ready!" Austin just kept going.

"There's no time to get ready when people catch you off guard!" He threw the ball at Sheldon. "I'm teaching you to be ready _faster_!" Sheldon caught the ball and threw it back. It hit Austin on the top of the head, and Sheldon put his hands over his mouth.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Austin rubbed his forehead and picked up the ball. The next thing Sheldon saw was a flash of orange, and he was on the ground with a headache and a bloody nose.

"AHAHAHAHAH! Missy, did you see that?! I hit him square in the face!" Austin laughed. Missy turned to look at them.

"Aw, I missed it! Do it again!" Sheldon was starting to tear up.

"No, don't do it again, that hurt!" Austin picked up the ball, as Sheldon sat up and tried to dodge his throw, it hit him hard in the nose. Missy and Austin cracked up as Sheldon dropped back onto the ground and cried.

"You have great aim, Austin!"

"Thanks! Look, I bet I can nail him again!" He picked up the ball and stepped back, ready to throw it again. Sheldon quickly got up and ran into the house, dripping blood out of his nose as he went. "Aw, come on, you pansy, we're just playing!" Austin watched him shut the door and shook his head. He looked at Missy. "Do you wanna play catch?"  
"Yeah, I guess it looks fun," she said, smiling as she stood up and walked towards him.

"Alright, cool. We could probably hear mom's car from here if she came home, anyways." The two played catch for a while, and although Missy failed to catch the ball often, she was still better than Sheldon.

In the upstairs bathroom, Sheldon was looking at his bruises and dirt and blood marks in the mirror. He was still crying. His head and nose were killing him as he washed his face. After he got all of the dirt off, he grabbed some toilet paper and held it to his bleeding nose. There was also a cut on his forehead from the impact of the ball breaking skin. He washed it and continued to hold the toilet paper to his nose as he went back downstairs. In the kitchen, he heard a muffled "She's home!" Come from outside the back door and watched Austin and Missy run in shortly after. Missy ran to the couch, and Austin put his back on the door to shut it, breathing heavily. "We made it!"

"Yeah!" Missy shouted from the couch as Austin walked over by her. Sheldon was still crying as he opened their pantry to get a box of crackers. He took a few out and returned the box back to its place. Austin watched him walk to his spot on the couch and saw that he was still crying.

"Sheldon, don't be a baby - and gimme one of those crackers." Austin snatched a cracker from Sheldon and sat back on the ground. He split it in half and gave a piece to Missy. Sheldon sniffed and rubbed his head, chewing tiny piece of a cracker (he ate like a bird).

"I'm not being a baby."

"Yeah you are-" Austin argued. The front door suddenly opened, and Mary stepped half inside holding a bunch of brown bags. Sheldon put the rest of his crackers in his mouth.

"Come on, and help your mother bring these groceries in," she said as she held the door for them to walk out. Sheldon stayed sitting on the couch, closing his eyes and keeping the toilet paper to his nose. Mary let go of the door and walked towards the kitchen. "Shelly? What's the matter?" She put the bags on the counter and ran over to Sheldon. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. He didn't know what to say. Surely, he couldn't tell her what _actually_ happened because that would reveal that they disobeyed her. He quickly made something up and took the toilet paper away.

"I… fell down the stairs." His face twitched once at the lie. Mary thought nothing of it, though. She thought it was just his face throbbing from the bruises.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sheldon, are you alright?" He nodded and wiped his eyes (he had stopped crying). "You stay here, and we'll get the rest of the groceries." She patted him on the leg and went back outside, dodging Missy and Austin as they carried bags in through the doorway. Austin was looking at Sheldon as they walked towards the kitchen.

"Hey, why aren't you helping us?" They set the bags down on the counter, and Missy sprinted back outside to help Mary. "Did mom say you could sit in here?" Sheldon nodded. "You didn't tell on me, did you?" Sheldon shook his head. "Good," Austin said as he walked back to the front door. Sheldon watched him leave the house and looked at the side table. He realized that his clay gecko was still there, so he quickly picked it up and brought it upstairs. It was too small and fragile to be anywhere else but his room. He place it carefully on his dresser and smiled. The glint of the setting sun caught his eye in the window. It was already time for dinner, so he went back downstairs into the kitchen. Mary was taking food out of the brown bags and putting it either in the fridge or the pantry, depending on where it belonged. Missy and Austin were wrestling in the family room again, and Mary called them over as Sheldon sat at the table.

"Coming!" Missy shouted in her high voice as she shoved Austin out of the way. He quickly followed behind. They both sat down and waited for Mary to finish making their macaroni and cheese. After she put their food out for them and sat down, there was another forced prayer, and they ate. Sheldon's stomach started to hurt about halfway into eating his mac 'n cheese, but he didn't say anything. He thought it would just go away soon and listened to their conversations.

"So, Shelly, anything fun happen with your new friend at school?" Mary was looking at him, smiling.

"Yes," he said, smiling back. "Bridget gave me a clay gecko that she made."

"Ooo, you'll have to show me later. Is it dried clay or the more pliable kind?"

"It's dried - more of a tiny sculpture, really. And it's quite lovely," said Sheldon in his cute little boy voice.

"I'm sure it is… What about you two?" Mary looked at Austin and Missy. "How was _your_ day at school?" Missy, being the attention seeking little girl she is, answered first.

"During recess, I went halfway across the monkey bars _all by myself_ ," she said proudly. But she quickly pouted after saying it, and no one noticed.  
"That's great, dear." Mary smiled and looked at Austin. "How abou-"

"And I would have made it _all the way_ across if Kelsey didn't push me off!"

"Oh, don't worry, you can try again tomorrow, I'm sure." Mary looked back at Austin as he ate his mac 'n cheese. "How about you, Austin? Anything interesting happen at school?" He swallowed and looked up at the ceiling, thinking.

"Carter and I broke one of the tables." Mary's smile faded and was replaced with a frown.

"Now, what'd you go and do that for?"

"It was an accident! Ask Carter! We just sat on the table to get a view of the science project, and you how know Carter is…" said Austin, suggesting Carter's weight that the other three already knew about. Sheldon and Missy snickered, and Austin smiled at them as they all imagined the table collapsing under the kid.

"Austin Douglas Cooper, you know that's not a nice thing to say."

"What'd I say?" he laughed, shrugging and looking back and forth between Missy and Sheldon, who were still grinning.

"Fine. You suggested it." Austin stopped laughing eventually, and Mary started to talk again. "Anyways, I'm glad you all had … fun… at school, but I need to tell the three of you that I'll be going out with some friends tonight-"

"Where are you going?" Missy quickly interrupted. "How long will you be gone? Is daddy going to watch us?" Sheldon's already aching stomach twitched at the word "daddy," and he looked up to see what the answer was.

"Whoa, whoa, little Missy, simmer down. I'm just going to Pam's house for a while, although you probably won't see me until you get ready for school tomorrow." Sheldon was waiting for the answer to the last question. He'd honestly rather be alone with his siblings again instead of their dad coming home and watching them. He stared at Mary until she answered, looking at Missy. "And yes, your father will be coming home, but he'll still be a while, so you might already be sleeping."

"Awwww , I wanna see him, though!" Missy complained, angrily dropping her spoon into her bowl and frowning.

"Yeah, it's been too long," added Austin (whose food was gone by now). _No it hasn't_ , thought Sheldon.

"I know, I know - here, let's make a deal. You kids can stay up until he gets home, but when daddy says it's bed time, you gotta do what he says, okay?" Austin, facepalming at the use of the word "daddy" nodded, and Missy jumped up from her chair, almost knocking her bowl to the floor.

"Yay!" Missy looked across the table at Sheldon and picked up a shell noodle. She looked back up at him and threw it at his face, causing the cheese to splat on his cheek. "Come on, Sheldon, aren't you happy?"

"Missy, don't throw your food," said Mary as she collected Austin's dishes and put them on the counter. Austin got up and went up to his room. Sheldon took the noodle off of his face and wiped his cheek with a napkin.

"Yes," he lied quietly. He looked up at Mary as she walked back to the table. "Can I be done eating? I'm not very hungry." He hadn't touched his macaroni and cheese since his stomach started to hurt. Mary leaned to look into the bowl and reach her arm out for it.

"Sure, Sheldon." He handed it to her, and she walked away with it. Missy took her empty bowl to the sink.

"When do have to leave?" Mary took her bowl and washed it.

"In about a half an hour… You're gonna behave yourselves, right?" Sheldon, getting out of his chair, nodded.

"Of course we are," Missy reassured her. Mary smiled and continued to wash the dishes as Missy skipped away to her room. Sheldon walked over to Mary and looked up at her, tugging on her dress.

"Oh, hey there, Shelly, whaduya need?"

"Would you like to see the gecko I got from Bridget?" She smiled and dried her hands.

"I'd love to." They walked up the stairs and went into Sheldon's room. "But after this I gotta get ready to go out." Sheldon nodded and carefully grabbed his clay gecko and held it out in his hand for Mary to see. "Oh, how nice…" She admired the tiny work of art.

"But wait, look," said Sheldon as he picked it up and flipped it over. Mary gasped as she read the writing.

"She had it engraved specially for you? That's so sweet, Shelly, you've got a very nice friend."

"I do," he said, smiling at the thought of Bridget. He put the gecko back on his dresser and turned around to look up at Mary. She kissed him on the forehead and stood straight up, patting him on the head.

"Well, I gotta go get ready. I love you." Sheldon sat on his bed and looked at her.

"I love you too. Bye," he said quietly, and she left to go to her room. He wished she wasn't going out tonight. He feared that he might make George mad later and have no one to run to when he started yelling. About ten minutes later, Sheldon saw Mary, all dressed up, walk towards the stairs, and Missy attacked her with a hug.

"Bye, mom! Have fun!"

"I will, sweetheart. You behave yourselves, now." She kissed Missy on the head, and Missy pulled away, running back into her room. "Bye, Austin!" she called in the direction of his room.

"See ya later, mom!" Mary walked down the stairs, and eventually, out of the house and left. It was already pretty late, so Sheldon decided to brush his teeth, put on his pajamas, and go to sleep. He figured sleep would rid him of his stomachache and prevent him from having to see George all in one. He laid down on his bed and turned off the light as he heard Missy and Austin run downstairs, eager to take advantage of the fact that they were allowed to play games after their bedtime. Sheldon closed his eyes and eventually drifted off into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 4

_Wednesday, August 23rd - 12:04 am_

Sheldon woke up with a burning pain in his stomach and a pulsating headache. He sat up, sweating profusely and began to cry. He wiped his forehead and stood up to go into his mom's room. It hurt to walk, but he knew that Mary could help him feel better. However, when he finally made it to her room, he found that it was empty. He quickly remembered that she was out for the night and wondered where George was. He carefully went down the stairs and stood in the kitchen, looking into the front room. George was sitting on the couch, watching TV and drinking a beer, and Sheldon could see the back of his head. Crying and sniffing, he walked over to the family room and stood next to the couch. George didn't even notice that he was there. Sheldon rubbed his eyes and wrapped his hands around his stomach. "Daddy?"

Nothing.

"Daddy, my tummy hurts," he said quietly and sniffed, wiping his eyes. George drank his beer.

"What do ya want me to do about it?" He was still carelessly looking at the TV. Its bluish glow was the only current light source in the house. Sheldon sniffed and looked at the ground, trying to think of what Mary would usually do when he was sick.

"Sometimes," he rubbed his eyes again, "Mommy rubs my belly and sings to me." He held his breath for a moment as he stared at George and swallowed. George still wouldn't look at him as he talked. He drank his beer again.

"I'm not doing any of that shit." Sheldon just stood there, not knowing what to do with himself. His stomachache was getting worse, and he started to cry again.

"Daddy, it hurts… please help me. I don't feel very good…" George finally looked at him, but he was already starting to get mad.

"Don't you dare puke on my carpet." Sheldon sniffed and rubbed his belly, still crying.

"Can you read me a story?"

"No, I'm busy." Sheldon desperately looked over at the kitchen, wishing Mary was there to help him. He felt very sick, now, but he didn't want to leave the room. George looked at him again. "What are doing still standing here, kid? Go up to your room."

"But-"

"Now!" Sheldon flinched at the volume of George's voice and cried harder. He just stood there, frozen. "Quit your cryin' an' leave me alone!" Sheldon sniffed.

"But my tummy really, really hurts, and-"

"An' I told you to go to your room!" Just then, Sheldon coughed and threw up on the carpet. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his pajamas as George quickly stood up. "God damn it, Sheldon! I told you to puke somewhere else! Now it's all over the carpet, and _I_ have to clean it up!" Sheldon backed against the wall and cried into his hands. "Everyone thinks you're _so_ smart, but you can't take a hint and puke in the toilet like normal people!"

"I'm sorry, daddy, I didn't mean to," Sheldon sobbed.

"I don't give a shit - it still happened whether you meant to or not!" George smacked him across the face, and he cried harder. "Now, go to your God damn room, and _stay_ up there, you damn pussy!" Sheldon ran into the kitchen and went up the stairs, wiping the tears on his face, but they just kept coming. And so did his vomit. He threw up again at the top of the stairs, and, almost slipping in it, he ran past it and went into his room. He shut his door and fell onto his bed, still sweating excessively. After a few minutes of laying there and breathing heavily, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He wished he had locked his door, but it was too late to do it now (his room was directly next to the front of the stairs). George made an angry shout when he saw the vomit at the top of the stairs, and it made Sheldon shudder. He felt like he was going to throw up again and cried.

"Great, now I have to clean _this_ , too… I'll get it later." He violently opened Sheldon's door, and Sheldon whimpered, inching back on his bed and covering his face.

"Daddy, please don't hurt me," he sobbed as George marched to his bed.

"Shut up or you'll wake your brother 'n sister." He grabbed Sheldon's arm and yanked him out of the bed.

"Where are we go-"

" _I said shut up._ " George dragged him out into the hallway and stopped in front of the stairs. "You see that?" He put his left hand on the back of Sheldon's neck and directed his attention to the vomit. Sheldon nodded and cried. "It's ruining our carpet." He shoved Sheldon down so that his knees got in it. He sat there and cried into his hands.

"I'm really sorry, Daddy," he cried, shaking his head.

"Yeah? Well 'sorry' ain't enough." He grabbed Sheldon's right arm and took him downstairs. "Sit in th' chair." George pointed to one of their chairs in the kitchen, and Sheldon climbed onto it, sniffing and wiping his eyes. George walked to a closet and came back out with a ratty, old blanket and threw it at him. It hit him in the stomach, and he gagged but swallowed, not daring to let himself throw up again. "I'm gonna clean up your gut soup, and you're gonna go in the garage and think about what you've done!" He was pointing to their back door, but Sheldon just stared at him. "Now!" Sheldon flinched and took the tattered blanket with him to the back door and went outside. He looked back as the door fell shut and saw George gather cleaning supplies through the window. It was cold and windy outside, and their garage was a few feet away from the back door. Sheldon hugged the blanket tightly as he walked. Shivering, he opened the door to the garage and entered, shutting it afterwards. It was cold in there. Not quite as cold as it was outside because it at least blocked the wind, but it was cold. He spread the blanket out on the ground and laid on it, crying. Little as he was, he was unable to lay on half of the blanket and still have some to put over himself. He decided just to lay on the entire thing so he wouldn't have to touch the freezing concrete. After all, he _did_ still have his pajamas to cover him. His head was hurting from the yelling, crying, and throwing up, but he was too tired not to fall asleep. He shut his eyes and slept for about an hour.

 _2:36 am_

"Wake up." Sheldon heard George's angry voice and looked up to see his huge figure towering over him. He immediately started to cry and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "I want'chu to get back in that house and go sleep in your room until you have to go to school." Sheldon nodded and stood up, holding the tattered blanket sleepily. George waited for him to start walking back to the house before talking again. "And don't you _dare_ tell your mother about this, alright?" Sheldon nodded. He would have left Sheldon to sleep in the garage, but he knew Mary would have a fit if she found out he had put him in there. They were back inside the house. Sheldon ran upstairs, taking the blanket with him as George shut the door. There was no vomit at the top of the stairs, but the fact that there had been earlier reminded Sheldon that he had to change his pajamas. He went into his room and took off the ones he was wearing, making sure to lock the door this time. After he changed, he laid down on his bed and curled around the blanket tightly. It was an old, tattered blanket with a few holes, but there was something about it that Sheldon liked. Maybe it was the fact that it was still pretty soft, or maybe it was its plainness. It was only one color - a dark grayish blue, and it soothed him. It reminded him of a dull midnight sky when there were clouds blocking all of the stars. The overall appearance calmed him, and he wished it weren't brought into his life in the way it had been. It deserved a happier arrival. But he couldn't change that, so he decided to just try to sleep until Mary got home and was eventually successful.

 _5:48 am_

George had left to go to work around four, and Mary was making breakfast for the kids as usual. She was making french toast in the kitchen when Sheldon came down the stairs rubbing his belly and holding the old blanket. Mary looked at him as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "You're up a little early, Shelly, does your tummy feel okay?" He shook his head, still rubbing his belly wearily.

"I threw up this morning, and it still hurts," he said quietly, looking up at her. She was putting some of the french toast on a plate.

"You threw up?" He nodded. "Oh, Shelly," she said as she squatted down in front of him, her right hand on his back and her left on his chest. "I'm sorry that happened to you. Do you think you caught the flu from one of the kids at school?" He shrugged, looking at the tile floor and looked back up at her eyes. She patted his chest once and stood up. "Well, you should probably stay home from school today." He rubbed his tired eyes and yawned.

"Okay," he said quietly as he walked over to the table and climbed onto a chair. He had mixed feelings about staying home. It would have been an absolute joy to get to miss school before he had met Bridget, but now that she was in his life, he missed being able to see her. But, as always, it was nice to get away from the bullying. And, for the record, he was extremely tired. Mary caught a glimpse of the tattered blanket he was holding onto out of the corner of her eye.

"Uh, Sheldon dear, what's that you're holding?" She was putting the rest of the french toast on plates, glancing at him as she went. Sheldon looked down at the blanket in his lap and looked back up at her. He remembered that George had gotten it from the closet and decided to just tell her he found it instead.

"It's a blanket I found in the closet." She looked at him questionably as she walked over to put breakfast out on the table.

"Oh, well, you don't want that nasty old thing, do you?" He looked at the blanket again.

"I like it."

"Oh, well, then you c'n keep it, if you want," she said, smiling. She was about to put a plate in front of him when she paused, holding it mid-air. "You probably aren't very hungry, are you?" He shook his head, and she took the plate back to the kitchen counter.

"I'm sleepy." Mary walked back over to him and felt his forehead, stroking his hair afterwards.

"Yeah, you should probably go back to sleep, sweetheart. Your forehead feels a bit hot."

He yawned and nodded, climbing out of the chair, and Mary kissed him on the head. He smiled faintly and sleepily made his way to and up the stairs. By now, Austin and Missy were coming out of their rooms, already dressed for school. Missy ran down the stairs, but Austin stopped at the front of them and watched Sheldon go to his room.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Sheldon, eyelids heavy, turned around in his doorway.

"...Huh…?"

"I _said_ what're you doing? It's a Wednesday - we have to get ready for school, and you're still in your pajamas."

"I'm sick, so Mommy said I could stay home." Austin quickly pulled his shirt over his nose.

"Sick? Gross! Get away from me!" And he ran down the stairs without wishing Sheldon wellness. He didn't care, though (or really even notice). He just continued to walk into his room and dropped down onto his bed. He shut his eyes, but quickly opened them and sat up when he heard Missy open his door.

"Mama told me to tell you she's gonna take your temperature after we leave."

"Oh - okay, thank you, Missy. Have a good day at school."  
"Thanks, I hope you feel better soon!" She ran down the stairs. Sheldon laid back down and shut his eyes. He was sweating a little and felt nauseated. The hotness was making him uncomfortable, but he also had chills. He sat back up, wiping his forehead, and opened the drawer on his nightstand. He took a comic book out and started to read it as he waited for Mary to come upstairs. After Mary took Austin and Missy to the bus, she walked back into the house, grabbed the thermometer, and went up to Sheldon's room.

"Shelly?" she said, gently opening his door. Sheldon was laying down with his comic book resting on his chest. He sat up, and it fell onto his bed.

"Hi."

"Hey there, sweetie," she said calmly as she sat on his bed. "I'm just gonna take your temperature - see if you have a fever." Sheldon knew the drill. He often got sick throughout his childhood, so nothing was ever really new. He opened his mouth a little, and Mary put the tip of the thermometer under his tongue. It beeped, and she pulled it out, turning it so she could read the numbers.

"Hundred and one…" She directed her eyes at him, but her face was still facing down at the thermometer. "Do you feel cold?"  
"Yes," he said quietly, playing around with his hands in his lap. "But I also feel hot sometimes." He swallowed and looked at her.

"Do you still feel sick?" He nodded. She glanced out the doorway and turned back to him, rubbing her hand on his leg. "...Do you… think you have to sit in the bathroom in case you get sick?" He looked at the ground and shook his head.

"I'm just sleepy."

"Alright, I'll let you get some rest, then," Mary said as she stood up. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything, but if feel like you have to throw up, try to get to the bathroom, okay?"

Sheldon yawned and quietly said, "okay." She turned to leave when he started to talk again. "Wait." She turned back around and looked down at him.

"Hm?" He played with his hands nervously and glanced at the ground, looking back up at her a moment later.

"Can you read me a story?" Mary smiled.

"Of course, darlin'. Which one wouldja like?" Sheldon smiled cutely and reached under his bed. He was too small to be able to reach the book from there, so he got onto the floor and looked under. Mary sat down as she watched him pull a vibrant yellow book out from underneath the bed. He climbed up and sat next to her, carefully handing her the book.

 _One fish two fish red fish blue fish_

Advanced as Sheldon was, he always loved some Dr. Seuss. Mary smiled and opened the book as he laid down on his back. She began to read to him, and he shut his eyes. She then rested her right hand on his stomach and moved her thumb back and forth softly as she held the book with her left. The feeling of his gentle intake and outtake of breath made her smile to herself. It was so rewarding to know that she was making him calm and comfortable. She finished reading _One fish two fish red fish blue fish,_ and, without realizing it, she had been smoothly rubbing circles on Sheldon's belly. She quietly closed the book and set it on her lap, looking down at him as he smiled faintly. Once she was sure that he had fallen asleep, she carefully took her hand away and stood up with the book, putting it on his dresser. On her way out of his room, she took one last look at him, smiled, and finally left.

 _3:02 pm_

"Shelly." Sheldon woke up to see Mary coming up the stairs and into his room holding a napkin. He sat up as she walked over to him. "Hey, Shelly, I got you some crackers." He wearily rubbed his eyes.

"What time is it?"

"About three. You slept for a while, so I thought you should have something to eat." She put the napkin down on his bed, and it fell open, revealing pale, thin, square shaped crackers. Sheldon looked down at them with heavy eyelids.

"Thank you," he said quietly as he picked one up.

"You're welcome." She sat on his bed as he took his usual delicate, tiny bites.

"Where are Missy and Austin?"

"They're out playin' with the neighbor kids."  
"Can I go outside?"

"Sheldon...you know you're sick. You didn't go to school, and I don't want you giving anything to the neighbors." He looked down as he chewed a tiny corner of a cracker.

"Then," he swallowed, "when I feel better, can I go outside?"

"Of course," she said, smiling. He smiled back and continued to eat the rest of the crackers. He was already feeling better in terms of his stomach hurting, but he could tell that he still had a fever. Mary was looking absentmindedly at the pattern on his blanket when she suddenly looked back up at him. "Oh, I almost forgot - Do you still feel sick? Like, does your stomach hurt?"

"No." He picked up the napkin and wiped his hands on it.

"Okay, good because Daddy's comin' home real early tonight, and we were planning on going out to dinner."

"Just you and him?"

"No, I meant the five of us. That's why I wanted to know if you were okay to eat because we made plans before you got sick."

"Oh, okay," he said quietly. "Where are we going?"

"Just to that steakhouse Daddy loves across town," Mary said, smiling. "You like their food, right?" He nodded. "Good, 'cause that's where we're going." She stood up and ruffled his hair. He also got up, and they both left his room, but Mary went downstairs, and Sheldon went into the bathroom to pee. He was a little frightened at first when she said George was coming home early. But he would be perfectly safe if they were in a public place… right? After he washed his hands, Sheldon walked downstairs and played a few board games with Mary until Austin and Missy came back inside. Missy saw them playing _Candyland_.

"Ooo! I wanna play!" She ran over to the board and sat down, scooting in.

"Missy, don't get too close to Sheldon or you'll catch his sickness!" Austin laughed as he sat on the couch. She turned towards him and quickly looked back at Sheldon.

"Ew! You're still sick from this morning?" She ran behind the couch. Mary was looking at Austin and Missy angrily.

"Of course I'm still sick. It doesn't go away that quickly." Sheldon moved his piece on the board.

"Now, you two, don't be like that to lil' Shelly - he can't help it. And Missy, you can play after we finish this round." Missy ducked behind the couch.

"No, I don't want to touch that - _he's_ touching the board and all the pieces," she complained.

"Fine, don't play, then, but don't be mean to him, either."

"Mommy?" Sheldon was looking up at Mary as she turned around.

"Yes, sweetpea?"

"It's your turn." He pointed to the board.

"Oh, thank you - I forgot." She picked a card and moved her piece. Austin sighed loudly.

"I'm bored. When're we going to dinner?" Mary turned back to him as Sheldon took his turn on _Candyland_.

"As soon as Daddy gets home." She turned back to the game when Austin snorted.

"'Daddy'..." Missy climbed over the couch and landed next to him.

"What do _you_ call him?"

"Just 'Dad', so I don't sound like a baby - like you, you munchkin," he laughed as he playfully shoved Missy. She fought back by jumping on him.

"I'm not a baby," she breathed, "or a munchkin!"

"Oh yeah?" They rolled onto the ground.

"-Yeah!"

"Prove it, little girl!" Austin pinned her down next to the game board.

"Not again!" Missy was struggling to move. Austin laughed. Mary moved her piece to the final space on the board.

"I won!"

"Darn," said Sheldon, and they were about to put the game away when they both sat and watched Missy suddenly throw Austin to the side.

"Woah!" he said as he hit the floor. "You're stronger than you look!" He tried to pin her down again, and she kicked him in the shoulder. "Ow!" He rubbed his shoulder and punched her in the arm.

"Hey!" They started to hit each other rapidly, and Mary split them up.

"Alright, that's enough roughhousin', you two." Missy rolled her eyes.

"We're just playing!"

"No! You kicked my shoulder - I think it's broken!" Mary shook her head as Austin whined.

"It's not broken," she said as she and Sheldon finished boxing up _Candyland_. "Dad should be home any minute, so Missy, go brush your hair."

"Okay," said Missy, and she ran to the stairs.

"Sheldon, blow your nose, and Austin, go try to make yourself decent." Sheldon ran to the side table to get a tissue, and Austin shoved him out of the way, running to the kitchen. Sheldon caught himself on the table and stood up straight to blow his nose. After Mary had put _Candyland_ in a cabinet, she walked into the kitchen and went up the stairs to get ready. A few minutes later, Sheldon was still blowing his nose when he heard the door open. He quickly turned around to see George walk in and stepped back against the side table out of fear. He just held the tissue under his nose and sniffed. George walked over to him and took the tissue. He gently wiped the right side of Sheldon's soft little nose and balled up the tissue in his hand and ruffled his hair with the other.

"Missed a spot," George said, half-smiling. He walked into the kitchen, threw the tissue away, and went upstairs, and Sheldon watched every movement in silence. He walked over to the door and put on his shoes and coat, waiting for everyone else to get ready.


End file.
